A long time ago, I made the switch from using Rikaichan to Rikaikun because I changed my browser (Firefox to Chrome) and had no choice. It was recently brought to my attention that the dictionary data used by Rikaikun is very out of date. With this, I started looking into a Rikaikun alternative. Here’s what I ended up switching to.
Yahoo Car Navi or Yahoo!カーナビ , is a wonderful navigation app for those that live in Japan. I never hear anyone talking about it and I thought people should know more about it. Yes, yes, I know what you’re thinking, “We have Google Maps, why would we need anything else?” Sit down, stay a while. 🙂
I want to reminisce about Japanese electronic dictionaries or 電子辞書 (denshi jisho). Seeing these things was pretty rare outside of Asia, or at least where I lived in the US. I don’t remember where I originally found out about them, but I really wanted one when I started looking into them online. Before I get into my experience, let’s quickly go through why these devices were/are a big deal.
I’ve wanted to talk about Japanese political posters for a while now, so it’s high time I knock this one off my to-do list. I remember being in the US during election season, whether it was a local one or national one, political signs were everywhere. Mostly you could find them in people’s yards or on big billboards around town.
In Japan you’ll often see political signs for local and national politicians as well, but things might be a bit different than what is done where you live. Let’s examine some differences.
The internet is a crucial component to so many people’s lives, it’s a wonder what we would do without it. One thing that surprises people when they move to Japan is the complexity of getting standard internet connectivity in their apartments or homes. Dealing with the Japanese internet system might be a little different than the way it works in your home country. Let’s take a look at some information that might help you get a better grasp on the internet situation in Japan.
Did you know that there is an easy way to tell the status of a Japanese driver? There are a few Japanese car stickers that have various meanings which can give you some insight into the driver in front or to the side of you. Here are the most common stickers you will see displayed on cars in Japan. Can you guess what they mean without reading the answer?
Japanese companies providing services in English alongside Japanese is not super common, but one in particular that never did was Pizza Hut Japan. You would think that the company would want to make it as easy as possible for non-Japanese customers to order pizza. I’m willing to bet that the foreign community craves/orders more pizza than the average domestic customer. I don’t have any research to back that one up, but it’s just a feeling.
People around the world are most likely familiar with Japanese animation and know that it comes from Japan. Some people are really into it and others are not. Regardless, it has spread all over the world. However, let’s take a moment to think about the reverse. What about American animation in Japan? What shows are available and what do people like? You might be surprised by the results.
Trying to read Japanese signs in a Japanese supermarket / grocery store can be daunting. No matter how much you study Japanese or what books you buy, sometimes you can’t truly be prepared until you’re there.
For me, it was always inconvenient looking for things because I couldn’t read some of the signs above each aisle. Well, I went out and took photos of each sign above every aisle in an effort to help others be able to read Japanese signs in supermarkets. Check out each of the signs with Japanese readings of the kanji and translations!
You’re going to want the best Japanese weather app available for checking the weather and staying prepared. The default weather app in iOS for iPhone is not the most helpful. This is especially true when you need to know when it’s going to rain, snow, etc.
I’ve tried a lot of different weather apps, but I settled on what I think is the best Japanese weather app around for both iPhone and Android. Let’s dive in and I’ll share the best sources for Japanese weather information.